Blog Archives

Fathering the Fatherless tackles the important issue of fatherlessness and how it affects children and society. Do you feel that fatherlessness will become a bigger issue in the future?

Fathering the Fatherless book was and is to shine a light and to spark interest for the reader to go on there own personal journey of looking.

How has your faith helped you come to terms with fatherlessness?

Far as my faith it has helped me realize there prayers and the word of God The Holy Bible that I came to know Him as Abba Fathering now my book is to get you to ask yourself am I doing my very best and does God love me more than anything else and yes he does.

You use many facts and figures in your book. Was there a statistic that you came across that surprised you?

There was a few statistics I feel under and I was surprised.

What is the next book that you are writing and when will it be available?

My next book should be out this year from Author House Fathering The Fatherless 2nd Edition more information new chapter on psychological aspects of a fatherless home and more details other chapter.

Fathering The Fatherless deals with Fatherless in the home’s & how affects children in the home & what we can do to change. It’s a short read and aimed to open your eyes and heart, to get you asking and thinking.

Neutral Space is set in the year 3006 in a galaxy where intergalactic races have intermingled with humans. How did you set about creating the world in this novel?

I love Star Wars and Star Trek. I grew up watching them. As I got older other sci-fi films like Total Recall (the original) and The Fifth Element became personal favorites. When I started writing Neutral Space I envisioned pieces of these different worlds from sci-fi flicks. I wanted something that felt familiar and inviting but still plausible in 3006.

Alliances are broken which causes a war between Kelsairans and humans. I felt the Kelsairans were well developed and thought out. What was your inspiration for this race and how did it change while writing?

The Kelsairan society is based on the Spartans. While they don’t have a whole population of slaves supporting their militaristic lifestyle they are forced to send one child to serve the army. Originally, I intended the Kelsairans to be much more hostile and harder to understand, something closer to true Spartans or even Klingons. As the story evolved and Kheda’s character took shape she had too many human characteristics to do so. She couldn’t veer so far from her people. Her love for a human wouldn’t have been convincing. Government lies of horrible heartless aliens was a more plausible reason for human’s to hate them than for Kelsairans to actually be so horrible.

I felt that there were parallels to today’s society regarding war and political agendas. Were there any events that influenced you while writing?

This story wasn’t meant to be an action adventure, or a military book. It was intended to be a modern Romeo & Juliet. A futuristic war between two alien races seemed like a great way to update it. Somehow during the writing process it took on a life of its own and morphed into the book it is today. When I decided I wanted them to have a happy ending Jackson and Kheda needed a way to end the war that was manageable for two soldiers. Solving a government conspiracy seemed like the only plausible answer at the time. I don’t know if I was influenced by actual events or a general mistrust of large government. What I can say is this story was actually written in 2006-2007 and later revised and edited for publishing. At the time we were in the middle of the Iraq war, Afghanistan War, and it had been five years since September 11. There was a lot going on in the world and it probably influenced the original choice to create a war between two races to begin with.

Will this be the first book in a series? If so, where do you see the story going in the next book?

This was not the first book in a series. I doubt I will ever write another sci-fi novel again. I honestly feel like a fraud. I love watching the genre and even reading some of the less technical novels, more along the line of space operas. When it comes to writing it though, I don’t feel like I do the genre justice. It’s why I hesitated publishing Neutral Space in the first place. For the most part I think I got lucky with Neutral Space. I tried something new and it worked. I won’t tempt fate again.

Lieutenant Jackson Peterson thought he knew who the enemy was. A bitter war with the Kelsairans made it abundantly clear. When Jackson saves a Kelsairan woman from a wrecked ship, the line is suddenly blurred. The enemy isn’t what the government said they were and he can no longer blindly follow orders. A shocking discovery leads Jackson down a sinister path of intrigue that could change the fate of two races. But, both the Kelsairan and the Human governments will kill him to keep their secrets. Jackson will risk everything to stop them. Will it be enough? Or will he die in the process?

If American learned something from the Trump Campaign, the power of Social Media won an election. Why not capitalize on the lesson learned and begin a campaign geared toward Authors. Smashwords.com says “The first few days after Christmas mark the biggest ebook selling days of the year as millions of readers around the world unwrap their new e-reading devices and smart phones start loading them with new ebooks to read. Let’s help these readers read!” And what about all those gift cards for Amazon, Barnesandnoble, Apple iTunes and more?

As Authors, we can make the week between Christmas an New Years dedicated to Authors around the globe. Thic can become an annual Campaign for Authors. Here’s what I propose we do. First, I will jumpstart this campaign with this blog by posting it all over facebook via my Author page, on Goodreads , my webpage www.johnegreek.com and tweet on Twitter.

What we can do as authors/editors/writers/publishers, etc., beginning at 12:01 A.M. 12/26/17 through 12:01 A.M. January 1st is as follows:

When that Author is notified that his book has been tweeted or retweet, he should identify the Author/person by name, go to one of the carriers listed, copy the link to their book and tweet or retweet their book. If the person tweeting is not an author, remember to identify and thank them by following them on twitter.

Make sure twitter links are tied to Facebook, Instagram or Google+, only to name a few.

Do not discriminate by genre or author. Retweet or tweet anyone’s book.

If an author retweets or tweets your book, make sure you follow them. This is also a terrific way to build your twitter following. Do the same on Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram. Build your following.

Make sure your tweets contain the following: The link to the Author’s book, your Twitter account name and your website/email address.

This can become an Annual campaign. Better yet, it can also become a Spring, Summer, Fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas Campaign. We can use the power of Social Media to build our Author following, increase our sales and increase our exposure.

Project Bodi focuses on Google Health and the impact that artificial intelligence has on the future of work. What was your inspiration for this book and why was it important for you to write it?

One day I was driving to San Diego and I had an idea – what if mindfulness meditation can enhance creativity and innovation? Mindfulness is very popular right now with apps like Headspace, 10% Happier, etc. It occurred to me that mindfulness was a way to tap into the subconscious mind and solve the challenges in our lives. I decided to write this book on that drive to San Diego, and I used the same techniques for harnessing innovation to write the book itself, which is why I wrote the book in only 8 weeks. Mindfulness really does enhance innovation, and I have this book to prove it.

Beth and Austin are interesting and well developed characters. What was your inspiration for their relationship?

It’s based on my own experiences in the corporate world. In many companies, the younger, entry-level employees are often ignored and they fall into a void of obsolescence. But in fact companies do best when engage their young employees and set high expectations for them. So the relationship between Beth and Austin is something quite common in the work force in my opinion.

This book has some scary parallels with our current world? Is there anything that worries you about our current level of AI or do you have a positive outlook?

A.I. has the potential to be a bright, powerful force for humanity that can enhance our lives, but there’s no denying the dark potential as well. It will depend on the motivations of our leaders, as described at the end of the book.

What is the next book that you are writing and when will it be available?

It will happen when the idea comes to me. You can’t force innovation; just like Austin learned, you should let your subconscious mind bring the brilliant ideas to you. Just be patient and it will arrive on its own.

In 2029, Google is the most dominant company in the world. Dr. Bethany Andrews heads the company’s Artificial Intelligence Department and leads Project Bodi, the world’s most advanced Augmented Reality smartglasses that will one day revolutionize the tech space. Her lead programmer is Austin Sanders, a 26-year-old psychonaut who loves Burning Man and electronic dance music. Together they embark on a life-changing journey to design the product of the decade, and along the way they discover the mind’s inner source of insight and innovation.

Future World Rocks! is an eclectic science fiction novel involving Nazi research of UFO’s, time travel, and secret underground beings. What was the inspiration for this fantastical detective fantasy?

Actual reports on Die Glocke or the ‘bell’ as are found in UFO and 2nd World War archives. Similar research revealed the Janos race of aliens, and Richard E. Byrd’s USA expeditions to the South Pole. Plus, Google maps of a metal cover to an entrance at one of the magnetic poles, led to reports showing the possible existence of a hollow earth.

Time travel comes with a host of problems, how do you handle time travel in your novel to keep it as believable as possible?

What host of problems? Professor Hawkins claims you can only travel forward in time, not backwards, or you could end up killing a direct ancestor and therefore no longer existing. I think that is bunkum! If you cease to exist when you already do, I would say that reversal of existence is totally impracticable and unfounded. If you go forward in time, the assumption is that no one yet exists, which negates the findings of those who predict an apocalypse, like the sinking of the Titanic. If you find no future, how can you move into it? If there is a future, what happens if someone else kills the time traveler from the past? Confused? Don’t be. The science behind time travel is explained by research into alien technology and I’m happy that what I’ve read is valid, if you find out where to look. Sorry, but I’m not providing the shortcuts!

The story occurs against a backdrop of Rock n’ Roll music, because of course “future World rocks to its core!” What motivated you to include this element in your story and was it difficult to accomplish?

Yes, very time consuming. But the clues are given in the song titles and extracts, which invariably can be found quickly by googling them, as provided. The reason I did it was the misused expression, ‘Space Opera’. How can you call something a ‘Space Opera’ that has no music in it?

What is the next story that you are working on and when will it be available?

I have a title and storyline already established, which will focus on the plight of existing characters. Ready in about seven months, once my esophagus starts functioning correctly.

This story contains interwoven strands that are brought together as events unfold.

The first focuses on the aftermath of Nazi research into UFO based systems. Primarily it concerns a flying time travel craft called the ‘Bell’ and its disappearance after those early days when the U.S.A. took over its research.

The second occurs in the future, when alien refugees seek asylum with us on our planet. They come from a planet destroyed by one of its own moons and have wandered the stars, looking for a place to stay.

Soon they are introducing us to other beings, secretly living under the surface of the planet and mining the moon. Naturally, whodunit problems arise for our crime detection agents to resolve.

All this occurs to a backdrop of Rock n’ Roll music, as Future World rocks to its core!

Project Bodi: Awaken the Power of Insight by Hosein Kouros-Mehr is a sci-fi fiction book that goes into an alternate world of Google and its reign in 2030 and beyond. Although it’s a fictitious book, there are so many parts of it that relate to the world that we currently live in so reading this book was like looking into the future. A scary and not so distant future. The book focuses on Google Health and the impact that artificial intelligence has on the future of work.

This book took a bit for me to get my head around, but once I did, I devoured it. I love reading about alternate worlds and dystopian futures and although this book was a somewhat dystopian future, the similarities between what’s happening in our world are obvious. Artificial Intelligence is scary because we don’t know much about it as a species and yet continue to use it with reckless abandon and for me, messing with things that we don’t fully understand can only lead to trouble.

How much of a role should artificial intelligence have within society? This book suggests that the way things are going, artificial intelligence should not only be expected but welcomed with open arms. However, as the story goes on, I felt more linked with Austin than I did with Beth. As much as I want to be hardworking and driven, my smartphone and social media is a constant and easy to access distraction from my work. Although I might have talent, it’s surely being squandered by my lack of dedication and focus to the task. It was refreshing to see this written in a non-condescending way as that is so often the case when people write about younger generations.

I found myself reading this book with ease. Although the book switches between three different characters, including the CEO of Google, the language is easy to understand and easy to follow. As we are dealing with some interesting concepts throughout this book, it’s a huge bonus that the perspectives that are shown in the book are easy to understand and easy to read and are delivered with relaxed and concise language.

I really liked the different perspectives that were shown throughout the book. It varies from the younger guy whose distracted yet shows promise, the senior worker whose given a mountain of a task with little room to fail and the CEO of the company that’s taking over the world. Despite these differences, the perspectives between them all show that there’s similarities there as well. The pressure to stay on top of your game in a world of never ending challenges and pressures. I liked the passages about subconscious. We often forget that our strongest tool is our mind and once we sharpen it, we can be unstoppable.

I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy and eye opening read that showed me what the future will possibly look like.

Fathering the Fatherless is a short, non-fiction story detailing the struggles a man has in terms of understanding and becoming a father. Why was this an important book for you to write?

I wrote the book because my Pastor struck a cord inside of me when he asked me to pray for fatherless spirit. I was like wait, there are hardly any books on this as far as I know. And then within 5 months I wrote most of what is in Fathering the Fatherless. From that I noticed I fell under this pattern of statistics and I needed to change so my children would live a healthier and better life and that I would become the father God called and made me to be. If you look at the first chapter, Statistics of a Fatherless Home, and look at whats going on in this world you can see what I mean.

What is one misconception that you think people have about fatherless families?

Well, writing this book was from the heart as a man growing up without a father I feel I missed out in so much as a child and as a father I lost out on how a father really should be and how to father.

You speak from your own personal point of view in this story. Was there anything difficult for you to write about?

It was hard to talk about me as a father and not having a father as I was growing up.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from your book?

I hope everyone will grow and learn from the book and strive to do a better job and teach others how to be a better father.

“Fathering the Fatherless deals with Fatherlessness and what it does to children and The choices we make in there life. What we can do as a dad to fix it.And do better for our Children to come to know they have a father that loves them and wont leave them, You & God.”

Oliver and Jumpy is book 4 in your children’s series that follows playful characters as they go on various adventures. Why was it important for you to create a children’s story that focused on kindness, friendship and helping others?

Many picture books have lessons to tell, but can be very obvious. Children don’t really like to be told what to do. A good example is always better and Oliver, although he is quite a character, shows that you can have fun and adventure, and at the same time do good.

The art in this book is wonderful. What was the collaboration like with the illustrators?

I thought a long time about which quality of illustrations I should pursue. I did not want to go cheap with dots for eyes figures. I would have loved to follow the very complex pictures of the fairy-tales books of 100 years ago. Unfortunately, being self-financed, this option would have been far too expensive. I grew up with Walt Disney and decided to follow that style, which is easy enough for most illustrators to create, but with facial expressions possible. I tried out six illustrators. The first one, Marvin Alonso, was outstanding. He did illustrations to about eleven of the stories before finding greener pastures. Then I found Maycee Ann Reyes who works together with her husband. The rest is history. This team was simply fabulous. They needed a minimum of supervision and created the scenes of the stories totally by themselves. I just provided the story and simple instructions. Maycee turned out a picture every 3-4 days. These series has about 500 illustrations. Oliver and Jumpy began 4 years ago and it was a herculean task which is now finished. This is a triumph of self-publishing. No run-of-the-mill publisher would have been able to produce such an elaborate work in that time.

My favorite story is Butterfly Trouble. What is your favorite story in this book and in the series?

I like the Dog story. I wrote this story because every time we have our daily walk through the neighborhood, there is a bored dog barking and my wife is saying that we should knock on the door and see if we can take him for a walk with us. My favorite story of the series is Story 18 called Moon Crystal. Oliver travels to the moon to bring healing crystals back to Sillandia. This book won the Readers Favorite Book Award Gold Medal.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will that be available?

I have been working and finished the Chinese and Spanish version of the series. I am now working on the German one and other languages will follow. My final goal will be to find a company who is willing to invest in a TV series. I would like to see children all around the world to benefit of the marvelous work of my illustrators.

Picture book: A cat series book for kids riddled with mystery and fantasy.

Oliver is an elegant tuxedo cat, who is full of himself. As a matter of fact he says: “I love myself!”, quite often. Naughty, isn’t he? But his best friend Jumpy, a kangaroo lady, is aware that he has a soft heart and will always want to help others. The great thing is Jumpy’s pouch, which Oliver loves to ride in! He calls her his kangaroo taxi! These little bedtime stories with their lovely illustrations are great for small kids. A parent can read the text and tell the child in his own words. These animal stories have sufficient text to keep early readers happy and provide some educational value. Love you all! Meow! Story 10: Unhappy Dog – The friends help an unhappy dog to escape his boredom. Story 11: Kite High – Flying high is everybody’s dream, but how to get down? Story 12: Butterfly Trouble – Butterflies don’t like to be caught.